St. John's Medical Center and University of Utah Health Care Announce Collaboration

9-Dec-2013

St. John's Medical Center (SJMC) is pleased to announce a new partnership
with Salt Lake City-based University of Utah Health Care (UUHC). "This
affiliation enhances patient care by improving access to UUHC’s
clinical experts and resources while maintaining St. John’s independence
as a local community hospital," said St. John's CEO Lou Hochheiser,
MD. The chief executives and other officials from both health systems
will lead an affiliation signing ceremony and celebration on Monday, December
16 at 11:30 am in St. John’s main patient lobby. The public is invited
to attend.

St. John’s Medical Center patients have long benefited from services
provided by UUHC’s University Hospital & Clinics – services
like cancer care by Huntsman Cancer Institute specialists, neurology,
cognitive health, and prenatal care for high risk pregnancies. "A
primary benefit of this relationship is access to services the community
would be unable to provide with local resources alone, due our size and
location," explained Hochheiser.

The affiliation will:

Improve the coordination of medical care for patients who require the services
of both health systems, including ease of scheduling and transmission
of information

Spurred on by growing economic, regulatory, and operational challenges,
many stand-alone hospitals are pursuing affiliations with larger health
systems in order to survive and thrive in the new healthcare environment.
Expenses for hospitals are projected to increase and net revenues will
be reduced due to greater compliance requirements and reimbursement cuts.
In addition to their clinical value, affiliations with high quality systems
are expected to improve quality of care and financial sustainability for
small independent hospitals like St. John’s Medical Center.

About St. John’s Medical Center
St. John’s Medical Center includes a 48-bed acute care hospital
in Jackson, Wyoming, and physician services clinics representing internal
medicine; urgent care; family health; ear, nose, throat and allergy; and
cognitive health. SJMC's health system also includes a 60-bed Living
Center for long term care residents, a winter clinic at Teton Village,
WY (home of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort), and a family health clinic
in Driggs, ID. SJMC works with more than 80 community physicians representing
27 medical specialties.

About University of Utah Health Care
University of Utah Health Care is the Intermountain West’s only
academic health care system, with a referral system encompassing five
states. The health system includes four hospitals, including Huntsman
Cancer Institute, and more than 1,000 physicians offering care in more
than 200 medical specialties. The system has been ranked for the past
four years in the University HealthSystem Consortium’s rigorous
Quality and Accountability Study.